One by one the names were called announcing the 20 films to advance in the Louisiana Film Prize competition.

"This year has blown me away," said founder Gregory Kallenberg. "This year the emotion, the spirit and the energy is unmatched to any other year."

The coveted prize in every filmmaker's eyes is the $50,000 cash to be awarded at the end of the LAFP film festival weekend in October.

Finalists have their short films viewed by thousands during the festival screenings. Some of the films also will be awarded with distribution deals. And for many filmmakers, this is a resume booster and a chance to be noticed by the major film industry.

Filmmakers submitted more than 125 films by the July deadline which were reviewed by a panel of judges from across the country. Last night, the finalists were announced in a live event at Robinson Film Center.

The cast and crews of each film celebrated the accomplishment with hugs and cheers as their movie's titles and director's name were announced. Hundreds were in attendance with many more watching through live streaming.

For many filmmakers, it was a major milestone in their careers.

"Words can't express how excited I am. This is amazing. Absolutely incredible," said Kyle Kleinecke, director of The Pickle. "It's been a lifelong dream of mine to direct a film — let alone make it into the Film Prize. Without the Film Prize, I probably would have never ever made a movie."

Others had made films before.

"This was my third time entering and third time making it into the Top 20," said Colby Doler, director of Beaumont. "I'm super, super excited. I had a really good feeling but I just wanted to make a good film."

While the finalists are one step closer to the grand prize, for many others it was the end of the line. Kallenberg encourages filmmakers not advancing in LAFP to continue entering other festivals.

"The Top 20 is competing for the largest cash prize for a film competition in the world," he said. "If you didn't get in the idea is to keep doing what you're doing and keep moving forward. This is about the creation of something amazing, and every single person who has created a film has done that."

The LAFP weekend-long festival is a little less than two months away. On Oct. 2-3 the films will be screened in several downtown Shreveport venues.

The 20 films — each between five to 15 minute long — will be divided into two slates. Each slate must be watched in its entirety to qualify festivalgoers to vote.

The public votes will be combined with the professional judging panel's votes, and on Oct. 4 the top film will be announced at a ceremony at artspace.

LAFP debuted in 2012 and continues to grow each year. One of the requirements is entries must have been filmed in Shreveport-Bossier City. The number of registrations has more than doubled since its inauguration year and LAFP staff witnessed a drastic increase in the number of out-of-town filmmakers.

The LAFP group has also expanded to include Louisiana Music Prize competition, which will kickoff Oct. 1, and Louisiana Start-Up Prize.